By Laura Mandaro
A rally in telecom stocks lifted Brazilian shares Thursday,
while speculation the country could tweak its strategy of tamping
foreign inflows supported the real.
Mexican, Chilean and Argentine indexes also took part in broad
rally across both North and South America.
Brazil's Bovespa index gained 467 points, or 0.7%, to 64,380,
boosted by gains in telecoms carriers Vivo Participacoes (VIV) and
TIM Participacoes (TSU). Brasil Telecom Participacoes shares also
gained in Sao Paulo.
Vivo's U.S.-listed shares gained 5.2% after the cell-phone
operator said its profit in the third quarter more than doubled,
helped by lower operating costs and slightly higher services
revenue.
Petrobras (PBR) shares gained 1.7% after the state-controlled
oil company said it had bought Chevron Chile S.A.C., which produces
and sells the Texaco brand of lubricants in Chile.
Brazil's real currency edged up against the U.S. dollar. One
U.S. dollar bought 1.714 reals, down about 0.2% for the day.
Giving the currency a lift, said Brown Brothers Harriman
currency strategist Marc Chandler, were local press reports saying
Brazilian officials are evaluating other measures to slow capital
inflows - including the government selling a Brazil-denominated
bond issue to foreign investors.
Last month, Brazil's government said it was imposing a 2% on
foreign purchases of Brazilian bonds and stocks in a move to slow a
wave of investments that have driven up stock prices but also made
its currency more expensive, a risk to its exports.
The currency has gained about 35% this year. It tumbled when the
government announced its decision to impose capital controls on
Oct. 20 but has since stabilized to roughly the same levels before
the announcement.
"Perhaps most important for foreign investors though is the talk
that officials may change the rules and allow investors to deposit
guarantees overseas," Chandler wrote.
Mexico's IPC index gained 1.1% to 29,765, led by modest gains
manufacturing and industrial firms' shares.
Chile's IPSA edged up 2 points to 3,349.
On Wall Street, stocks rallied broadly on a drop in U.S. weekly
jobless claims and optimistic comments about the economy from Cisco
Systems' (CSCO) chief executive. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
(DJI) rose 165 points, or 1.7%, to 9,967, coming close to the
10,000 level.
Oil prices slid 0.5% to $80 a barrel. Copper prices also
faltered.